The Wasteland Survival Guide
by Biohazrd23
Summary: Noah has been hired by Moira Brown to gather research for her book, the Wasteland Survival Guide. The Capital Wasteland is a dangerous place as he encounters slavers, radscorpions and super mutants.
1. The Quick Draw

The Wasteland Survival Guide

A Fallout 3 fanfic

By Biohazrd23

I stared at the slaver from behind two large rocks. Behind him walked two freshly-caught slaves, ready to be transported to Paradise Falls. I recognised one of the slaves, she was a travelling merchant I had spoken with in Canterbury Commons. She had dark red hair and was wearing dirty pre-war clothes with turquoise reading glasses.

The other slave must have been from Little Lamplight. He had to have been no older than 7 years of age. Not even children were safe in the hands of a slaver.

I slowly equipped my hunting rifle. There were no other slavers in sight, if I could pull off I clean headshot on him, I would be able to remove the slave collars from the red-head and the boy.

Staring down the sights of my rifle, I waited for the slaver get in a good range.

Suddenly, a radscorpion burst out from behind a rock in front of the slaver. Now was my chance, I could let the scorpion kill the slaver and save me the bullets, but then it might also kill the defenceless slaves. I could kill the scorpion and maybe get into the slavers good books, and then when his back is turned I could blow a hole in the back of his head and free the slaves. Either way, I had to do something.

I squared the slavers head in my sights. Hoping the radscorpion would do a hefty amount of damage to him so it's easier for me to pick him off.

The scorpion lunged forward and impaled the slaver with its huge stinger. I quickly spun and aimed at the radscorpion. Any second now and the scorpion would turn on the slaves. I acted fast, jumping out of cover and sinking a bullet into the scorpion's body, sprinting towards it and yelling at the slaves to run. When it turned to me and scurried towards me I stopped, pulled the rifles scope up to my eye and pulled the trigger, the bullet tore through the air and plummeted into the radscorpions head.

I moved back, and shot it in the head again. The scorpion hesitated only slightly before dashing towards me again. I stopped and stood my ground. One more shot should've done it.

I braced myself, and then squeezed the trigger. The huge black scorpion fell flat and limp. Small chunks of its head blew apart and splattered the dry, empty ground.

"It's OK, come out!" I called out, hoping the slaves weren't too far away to hear.

I listened for movement.

"I'm not one of them! I'm trying to help you!"

The merchant woman slowly emerged from behind another huge rock, brandishing the dead slavers assault rifle.

"Drop the gun and put your hands behind your head!" She demanded.

Not wanting to scare her further, I gradually bent down and placed my rifle on the ground, then stood up straight and put my hands behind my head.

She walked towards me cautiously, aiming the barrel of the assault rifle at my chest.

"Who are you?" she ordered.

"I'm the one who just saved your life, now do you mind not aiming that gun at me?"

She stood a few feet away from me. Not taking her eyes off me, she called out to the young slave and soon, he too emerged slowly and cautiously from behind the huge rock.

"Are you one of them? Are you a slaver too?"

"No, look, I just wanna help you. I can take you someplace safe." I responded.

"It's too late, that bastard already put one of those collars on us, if we go anywhere else then Paradise Falls – well, I'm sure you know what'll happen."

"I-I can get it off if you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. But first you're gonna have to put down that gun." I nodded at the firearm in her hands.

She hesitantly aimed it downwards and eventually put it down on the ground, still not taking her eyes off me. She then walked closer to me.

"Hold still." I asked.

The collar was heavy and made from thick metal, a small flashing red light on the side. I pried open a small panel on the back with a screwdriver. Several different coloured wires were scrambled around inside it. I'd seen this before, and Moira had given me some notes on how to disarm these things.

"That should just about do it." I said, tearing out the last wire.

"I – I think it worked."

I carefully unhooked the collar and removed it from her neck.

"Thank you. My names Rose by the way." She said.

"I'm Noah. Pleased to meet you."

The little boy hid behind Rose.

"This is Brad." She said, nodding to the young boy.

"Hello Brad, would you like me to take that collar off for you?"

"Ye-yes please." He responded.

"Ok then." I leant down and examined the smaller collar on his dirty and bruised neck.

"Try and hold still for me, ok?" I asked.

I forced open the little panel on the back of the collar and cautiously removed the right wires. The collar immediately un-hatched and fell away from Brad's neck.

"Thank you." Brad said.

I stood back up and faced Rose.

"You don't mind if I take these do you?" I nodded at the large metal collars on the ground.

"No, sure take 'em." Rose smiled.

"So where are you gonna go now?" I asked.

"To Paradise Falls, teach those motherfucking slavers a lesson."

"No, don't. Trust me, it's too dangerous. I've been there. "

"So you are a slaver!" She hurriedly picked up the assault rifle.

"No! Look, let me explain!"

"The only thing you need to explain right now is why I shouldn't blow your fucking head off!"

"I had to go to Paradise Falls, it's part of my job! Look, do you really think that if I was a slaver, I would disarm your collars and save your life? I'm one of the good guys Rose, please believe me!"

"What's your job then? Huh?"

"I'm Moira Browns research assistant, over in Megaton."

"What do you mean?"

"She's been writing this book, 'The Wasteland Survival Guide' and she pays me to go out and gather information and research."

"What research?"

I could see her starting to calm down.

"She's paid me to bring back some slave collars so she can examine then. I've been following the guy that captured you for days waiting for him to slip up. And I guess by the looks of him, he slipped up alright."

I glanced over at the slavers body; it had a huge gaping hole in his chest where the scorpion had pierced his body. His innards lay strewn around him in gory chunks and blood coated the ground and rocks.

"So what were you doing in Paradise Falls then?" Rose asked.

"I thought I could steal a collar from there, but I ended up pissing off the guard so he wouldn't let me in. So I hid out and a slaver just happened to walk by, so I followed him for a while and when I saw you two get captured, I couldn't just sit there and let you be taken to Paradise Falls, I had to do something. I've seen what happens to people who get taken to Paradise Falls, they get sold to some of the most sick and disgusting people out here, and nobody deserves the treatment that slaves get."

Rose paused and went silent.

"I'm sorry I almost tried to kill you." She said, with a slight smile on her face.

"That's alright. Hey, look, why don't you two come with me back to Megaton? I'm sure Moira would love to hear what it's like to be a slave from someone who's experienced it for themselves."

"I guess we got nowhere else to go now anyway. Sure, why not."

"Cool, you better take that rifle. Just in case."

"Ok."

"Look, I think we better re-supply on ammo and food. I've only got enough food and water for a day. Canterbury Commons is closest, let's go there and stay the night. We'll head to Megaton first thing tomorrow, shouldn't take more than a few hours to get there but it's almost nightfall and I'm sure you would know how dangerous the wasteland is at night."

"Yeah, good idea."

"Ok, let's get going before the sun starts to set."

I looked around at the vast open wasteland. It was enormous nothingness. Dust and dirt as far as the eye could see. Several shrivelled and blackened trees stood where there was once a beautiful and luscious forest. Dust covered most of the destroyed roads and enormous bridges were now demolished and barely standing over filthy irradiated water. They sky was beginning to turn a bright and orange, but not even the skies was the same since the bombs dropped. It had never rained since the day the Chinese army obliterated Washington D.C. over 60 years ago. It had never snowed. It had never hailed, it was as if Mother Nature herself had died that day.

* * *

My parents had retreated into one of the many secure Vault-Tec vaults about a week before the bombs fell. They wanted to stay in there forever, along with every other resident of Vault 78, and they would have, but after I was born they had started running out of food and supplies, and when I was 19, a team of super mutants raided the vault. They killed everyone. I had only managed to escape thanks to my dad distracting one of them while I ran for the door. It was cowardly and I've regretted it all my life.

Once I had escaped, I had thought that the bombs would have wiped everything out, and that nothing would have survived. But I was soon attacked by a group of raiders, they beat me almost to death but luckily for me a few Brotherhood of Steel outcasts witnessed my beating and came to help me. As I lay dying and helpless, one of them picked me up and took me to nearby Rivet City.

The doctors there patched me up and in a few weeks I was fully healed. The citizens of Rivet City taught me everything I needed to know about the Capital Wasteland, they even gave me an old Pip-boy they found in the D.C. ruins.

When I left the city to travel the wastes, I came across the town of Megaton, a small shanty town built around an un-detonated atomic bomb. The town church had refused to defuse the bomb as they had worshipped it and although the people of Megaton were always cautious about it, no-one had ever dared to defuse it.

While in Megaton, I met Moira Brown, a local merchant and owner of Craterside Supply. As I needed the caps, she enlisted my help in writing her book, 'The Wasteland Survival Guide'.

* * *

As we arrived in Canterbury Commons, it was dark and all the residents were in their houses asleep.

"They keep a few mattresses behind the diner for the homeless to sleep on. I guess we'll just have to sleep under the stars tonight." I told Rose.

"Alright, I guess I've slept in worse conditions." She responded.

Out here in the wastes, you had to get used to living like the homeless, and sometimes you would have to go without food for days and deal with serious injury until you could find a doctor, which would often feel like a lifetime of agony. Water, the basic tool to sustain life was a rarity. Any water in lakes or ponds was highly irradiated and filthy but it was the only choice for most people. The vaults had their own water purification system and could maintain life for decades, but by now, almost all the vaults were uninhabited and/or demolished. Except vault 101, no one has ever come out of that vault and nothing has ever gotten in. There have been many attempts at getting in, but all have failed. There's an urban legend that there's a whole society of people living in there, safe from the horrors of the wastes, but as with all urban legends, it's yet to be proven.

The next morning, I awoke on the filthy mattress behind the diner in Canterbury Commons. I looked around, Rose and Brad had gone.


	2. The Ghost Town

The Wasteland Survival Guide

A Fallout 3 Fanfic by Biohazrd23

* * *

CHAPTER 2

The Ghost Town

The sun burned my eyes, ever since the bombs fell, it was as if the sun became a supernova, and it burned brighter and stronger ever since. I checked my Pip-boy; it was 7:29 AM. Megaton was far away, and I needed to get there before tonight.

I sat up on the rotted mattress, rubbing my eyes. I looked around and saw the bed Rose had slept in, she wasn't there, and neither was Brad. Maybe they were in the diner getting breakfast.

I grabbed my rifle and holstered it on my back before standing up and walking to the restaurant.

The old 1940's diner had been blown apart long ago, along with all the surrounding buildings. It had no roof and rubble lined the floor. I opened the door and walked in.

The townsfolk of Canterbury Commons usually would gather in the diner and have a meal consisting of either Squirrel on a stick, Iguana bits or Roasted Gecko, or so it said on the blackboard out front, which showed the menu.

But now, the diner was empty and silent.

"Hello?" I called out, hoping for an answer.

"Anyone there?" Still nothing.

I walked out, searching for any of the residents of the small community.

I was getting concerned, maybe the mayor would know something. I sauntered across the street to his house, one of only three in the whole town, and knocked on the door. No one answered, I opened it and cautiously walked in. I was starting to come up with crazy scenarios in my head. Maybe they're just all asleep. Maybe they're out gathering supplies.

I called out again, "Hello?"

Still no response. I was confused, where had all the locals gone?

I shut the door and proceeded to the next house. I went in and had a quick check, no sign of anybody.

The entire town was deserted. I had heard of things like this happening to a lot of the settlements around the Capital Wasteland. I assumed the worst and left the town. There was no reason for them to leave like this, and what had happened to Rose? I was unsure of where to go now. They didn't take anything of mine, all my supplies where still there. I checked my Pip-boy again, and turned on the radio. There were only two radio stations operational, Galaxy News Radio and the Enclave broadcast.

Three-Dog's voice came out of the Pip-boy. News got around the wasteland fast, and Three-Dog was usually the first to know.

"Now, time for the news," the voice spoke, "There have been increasing sightings of ghouls around Tenpenny Tower. A word of advice to you all out there who tend to have a 'shoot first, ask questions later' attitude towards them. Ghouls are humans too, who have simply had the unfortunate experience of being exposed to an ungodly amount of radiation. They still think, they feel emotions. Now Feral Ghouls on the other hand, they've been completely turned. They don't think, their brains have been completely void of all feeling and rational thought, so kindly put them out of their misery however you feel please.

Next, the small community of Canterbury Commons have not been in contact with any of the surrounding towns, and the residents haven't come out of their houses to trade with caravaners. We're becoming concerned as it may have something to do with the increase of Super Mutant activity in the area. So any of you out there, stop by Canterbury Commons, check out the place.

That's all for today, and a tip, don't trust anyone in Andale, we've been hearing some pretty sick tales of what goes on there. And now, some music."

Old timey music started playing. GNR had only a few songs to play, so they just repeated them over and over again. I had heard them all a thousand times before, so I switched off the radio.

Well that must be why all the townspeople have vanished, but it still doesn't explain where Rose and Brad had gone. I left and started to head for Megaton, maybe I would meet them on the way. I had the slave collars, it was all Moira would have needed. Maybe she would actually pay me in caps this time, instead of giving me useless junk in return for my "research".

* * *

It was around 4pm when I finally reached Megaton. The sun was about to go down, I would have to stay the night in Megaton. I opened the door to Craterside Supply, and Moira's face lit up as she saw me.

"Oh, good you're back! I was starting to get worried. Have you got me a collar?" She asked.

"Better. I've got two, you don't mind 'em in kid's size do you?" I responded.

"How did you get them?"

"I managed to deactivate them and get them off a slave's neck."

"You know how to disable them?"

"It doesn't always work."

"Well, can you show me? You have no idea how helpful it will be in my book, it could potentially end slavery in the Capital Wasteland!"

I showed her how to disable the slave collars, while she feverishly wrote how to do it and illustrations.

"Thank you so much! You'll need a bigger payment for this!" She told me.

Moira reached into her cash register and pulled out two handfuls of bottle caps. She placed them on the counter and reached for another handful.

"That'll be enough, thanks though." I said, shovelling the pile of caps into my pockets and backpack.

"Anything else you need?"

"Of course, I need you to go to the some of the old vaults and see if any are still operational. Vault-Tec were very secretive about the location of their vaults so most will be hard to find. They're bound to have vital supplies in them. A few weeks back, I payed some people to map out a few of them, but I lost contact with them and they never came back. See if you can find them too, I promise I'll make it worth your while." Moira explained.

"Great, I'll get going first thing tomorrow. I'd better stay in Megaton for the night, Moriarty's are still open aren't they?"

"Oh, no you can stay here! I've got a spare bed upstairs, it's the least I could do for all your trouble. You've been so helpful with the book."

I smiled, "Thanks Moira, that'd be great. I'll be back later, I just got to go get some food."

"Of course, haha. Ok then I'll see ya later."

I walked out of her shop smiling, and went to the small 'restaurant' down the hill. A woman in green stood behind the counter laden with various food.

"What can I get you?" She asked.

"How much are your noodles?"

"8 caps."

"I'll take some of them then, thanks."

She turned away and went to get the noodles. I sat on a stool and checked my Pip-boy while I waited.

Before she came back, a burly man with an overcoat and several high-powered weapons came up behind me.

"You work for Moira right?" He asked.

"Umm, I'm sorry who are you?" I responded.

"Lucas Simms, and I protect this town from outsiders. These citizens trust me with their lives, and who may I ask are you?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Noah." I held out my hand, but Simms ignored it.

"People here don't like tourists, so I suggest you do what you came here to do then leave."

"I work for Moira, and I'm just looking for some food and a place to stay the night, ok?"

"Don't give me attitude or I'll fucking end ya."

The woman approached and placed the noodles on the counter in front of me.

"8 caps please." She said.

I graciously grabbed the caps out of my pocket and dropped them in her hand. She took them and put them in the cash register.

Simms spoke, "Look, if Moira trusts you then I guess I can too. Some of the people here have families living in Canterbury Commons. It would mean a lot to them if-"

"Oh, you're not gonna kill me now?" I asked.

"I'm still deciding that. Now, I'm sure you've heard that all the resident of Canterbury Commons have disappeared."

"Yes.. . go on."

"Well some of their families here are concerned. Would you kindly go to Canterbury Commons and check out the place. People here are threatening to leave if they don't find out anything and I can't risk losing voters."

"What's in it for me?"

"Ha. All you wastelanders are the same. Always want something out of everything they do. Look, if you're not gonna do it out of the kindness of your own heart, maybe we can come to an arrangement."

"I'm listening."

"500 caps, take it or leave it."

"Add another 200 and you got a deal."

"We're a small town, we don't have a lot of money. 500 is all I can give you."

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Good, you can leave first thing tomorrow."

"I suppose I can go Vault hunting another day, sure. I'll leave tomorrow." I held out my hand again and this time, Lucas shook it.

"Thanks, it means a lot to the town that you're doing this."

"No problem, just don't expect me to come back with good news, they've been gone for a while."

"I understand. People have been expecting the worst already."

"I was there yesterday and I didn't see anything strange."

"Ok, just make sure you come back to me when you find where the residents are."

"I will. Ok, I got stuff to do, I'll talk to you later, see ya." I said.

Lucas left and headed for Moriarty's pub.

I sat and ate the noodles. The water they were cooked in was brown and irradiated and the noodles themselves were filthy and disgusting, but out in the wastes, it was one of the best meals you could get, apart from fresh cooked Brahmin meant, and even that was mutated and caused severe illness if prepared improperly. You had to learn to live with eating half a meal a day and surviving on the most vile and sickening food, because that was all that was available.

Life in the wastes drove people insane, if people weren't high on Jet, they were drunk. They would gamble all their money away and would often die of starvation.

Surviving was tough, but it had been like this for centuries and most people alive now had been born in these conditions. Due to high levels of radiation almost everywhere and filthy living conditions, only about 2 out of 10 babies would survive the first month of life, the radiation overwhelms them. Many people would go to Rivet City to give birth, as they had the most sterile hospital in the wastes, but even then the success rate was dangerously low.

I checked my Pip-boy again, it was late. I headed to Moira's shop, it was closed. I knocked on the door and Moira opened it and let me in. She was wearing dirty red sleepwear.

"Oh good! I was worried you wouldn't come back." She exclaimed.

"I only went to the pub, Moira."

"You were gone for a while."

"Sorry, must've lost track of time."

"It's ok. Oh umm your rooms upstairs, next to mine."

"Thanks, Moira."

"Umm, you know... if you want, you can sleep in mine... with me." She said, blushing.

"Oh. Uhh thanks but I think I'll pass tonight." I responded reluctantly.

"That's ok, I understand." I could see she was disappointed.

"Maybe another time, Moira." I smiled at her, letting her know that it's okay and trying to avoid the awkward moment.

"I'll see you tomorrow, good night." I walked away and up the stairs to Moira's spare room. It was the first proper bed I had slept in in a while, even though it was just a mouldy mattress on a bed frame, no pillow, no sheets.

The night was cold but I slept peacefully. I dreamt of a world without war, I had no idea what it would look like as I was born many years after the bombs fell and reduced Washington D.C. to a dirty, dusty, putrid wasteland. Had people behaved like this before the war? Had there been slavery and constant fear for peoples' lives? Is this what the entire world is like? They didn't teach us about places other than the Wasteland. Is the rest of the world just living their lives happily and with no war? This was the world I knew. I didn't know or expect any different.

* * *

Moira had prepared breakfast for me the next morning, crispy Mole Rat on a skewer. I reminded her that she was being too kind and doing too much for me, but I enjoyed the meal and she could see that.

"What's with that Lucas Simms guy?" I asked her.

"His father was one of the first people to help build Megaton, he's been here since the beginning of the town. And when his father died, he appointed himself town Sherriff. He does a good job at keeping unwanted people out, he keeps us safe." Moira answered.

"He asked me to go to Canterbury Commons yesterday. Apparently a few people 'round here are worried about their families there. Citizens are threatening to leave town to search for them."

"I heard about that, he's asked a few visitors to Megaton to go there but most have been... reluctant."

"Why?"

"Super mutants of course. There's a whole settlement of them near there. That's what they all say happened to Canterbury Commons."

"Have the Super Mutants done this before?"

"Well no one really knows do they? Those who are stupid enough to look for them don't come back."

"I've heard of entire towns disappearing without a trace before, but Canterbury Commons was well armed and well protected. The Super Mutants would be brainless to attack them."

"Well maybe it wasn't the Super Mutants."

"Who do you think did it then?"

"For all I know maybe they did just go on vacation."

Moira forced back a smile and shook her head. She finished her meal and picked up the plates before taking them outside. I checked my Pip-boy as she left the door. It was 8:03 AM. I had to get going if I wanted to get back to Canterbury Commons before the end of the day.

I stood up and gathered my belongings before walking out of the door. I saw Moira knelt down under a leaking water pipe, washing the plates in the irradiated water.

"Thank you so much for the bed and breakfast, Moira. I got to get going so I can get to Canterbury Commons before nightfall."

"Oh, you're going already? Ok then, I'll see you later. Good luck." I could see in her eyes that she didn't want me to leave just yet.

"You too, bye."

I walked to the enormous iron gate to the Capital Wasteland. A small girl ran up to me before I got to the entrance. She looked about the age of 12.

"Hi." She said.

"Oh, hey." I answered.

"Daddy says I'm not supposed to talk to people he doesn't know, but I heard you're going to Canterbury Commons."

"Yeah, that's right."

"My uncle lives there, he's one of the people missing. Please find him, please, please, please. Here, this is all I have but I miss Uncle so much."

She gave me a handful of supplies. There were 7 bottle caps and 3 handgun bullets, along with a cough lolly and a paper clip.

"Oh, thank you." I said politely, eyeing the things now in my hand.

The girl smirked and skipped away to the middle of town. Puzzled, I looked at her skipping away with glee and I grinned and turned my head, walking back to the gate.

I was back out in the wasteland, I could see several radio towers still standing in the distance. Canterbury Commons was north-east. I checked my Pip-boy where I had marked out its location on the map.

* * *

As I approached Canterbury Commons I checked my Pip-boy once again. I was faster than I thought I would be. It was 3:47PM. I hadn't checked the last house in Canterbury Commons when I woke up there yesterday. I could see through the window that the diner was still abandoned. The last house was at the end of the street, near the diner. It was like all the others in the Wasteland. Smashed windows, cracking walls, collapsed ceiling, rubble lining the floors. I reluctantly knocked on the door, as expected, there was no answer. I entered the building, unsure as to what I would find. The bedrooms were empty and showed no sign of life, or death. The master bedroom was the cleanest. I could see something poking out from under the mattress. I approached and pulled out the paper, it was folded in half and hastily scribbled on. I read it.

_If you are reading this, it means Canterbury Commons has been invaded, and that you are trusted with the safety of the citizens. I assure you, we are safe, alive and well. We have evacuated the town and will return when it is deemed safe and secure again. But for now, we are in hiding. For our safety, we cannot disclose our location at this time. Don't come looking for us. We will emerge from the darkness when the time is right..._

Something was wrong with the writing, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It looked wrong somehow. It was disjointed, right in some places but twisted and incorrect in others. Then a thought came to mind, and I re-read it to prove it. Two people had written it. Half of the words were neat and assuring, but the others were full of spelling errors and crossed out words. I took the paper and shoved it into my pocket. I left the house.

I didn't know whether to believe the note or not, one of the people writing it had to be lying. It wasn't signed, I had no idea who wrote it. The sun was setting, I would have to spend another night in the ghost town. As I walking to the small alley behind the diner, I could see a lone figure walking into town.

I ducked behind some rocks and peeked at it. It wasn't a Super Mutant, but I could tell it was taller than a human, but thinner. It had its head down and hunched. It sounded like it was crying. It looked like a walking shadow, wearing black robes that were torn and decrepit. The way the robes moved it was as if the figure was floating along the ground. It was haunting.

Once it passed the diner, I came out of hiding and slowly crept up behind it, but I kept my distance.

"Hello?" I said, trembling.

The figure stopped moving, it moved its head around before its body. I stepped back and equipped my rifle just in case. It faced me. I took a few more steps back, I wanted to run. The ghostly figure seemed to fly towards me at a high speed. I was frozen in fear.

Shrieking, it flew straight through me. It was as if all life was sucked from my body in an instant, and I collapsed. The world became dark, shadows engulfing me. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. I blinked my eyes and was surrounded in darkness.


End file.
